Free Bird
by stop reading my pen name
Summary: Tenten takes Neji to a secret hiding place, where he gets the surprise of a lifetime. Romance blossoms, protective birds, and killer missions.
1. Chapter 1

Takes place when their around Twenty.

Disclaimer : Don't own Naruto.  


Tenten turned off the stove and rice cooker. Grabbing a plastic plate she poured the contents of the pots inside, and then got a different bowl and also filled it. She closed that and put it in the microwave to keep it hot. She grabbed another container and poured soup inside that one, and then in a separate one smaller she placed some round things inside, and a small sealed cup with black liquid inside. She packed it into her bag among many other things that were in there, and then zipped it shut.

Carefully she put it on her back and straightened, she got four pairs of chopsticks, and then exited and locked the door behind her. Carefully but quickly she jumped onto the rooftops of konoha making her way to Team Gai's training grounds. She heard loud booms! Random screams about youth, a KAITAN, and an ARGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

They sounded like they were having a good training session. She walked slowly and then slowly began wondering if this was a good idea. She sighed she couldn't let all this food go to waste. She walked into the clearing with one flick of her wrist sent three pairs of chopsticks whistling through the air toward the three men in the damaged clearing. They caught it in one swift motion and all three turned to look at her in mild surprise or shock.

For there stood Tenten clad in a long red haori with black gloves(AN not finger cut off mind you) and black knee length shorts and casual sandal like ninja shoes.

"Tenten! This is your day off! You should be out with friends spreading your youthfulness!" Tenten smiled at Lee.

"So you guys aren't hungry after training for fifteen hours?" Gai and Lee stayed quiet and she heard a low rumble coming from both their stomachs.

"Tenten...ano you brought food?" Lee asked.

Tenten smiled at them again,"Yup."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You'll just have to see."

"Help me spread this Lee somewhere were there aren't any, holes in the ground," she looked at Neji in amusement, his silver-white eyes flickered toward her and then looked away. They walked deeper into the forest where it was cooler and the sun was hitting them directly. But it was a nice day in Konoha there where clouds occasionally hiding the sun and a very light cool breeze.

They stopped at a patch of grass where there where flower surrounding it, and then Tenten said,"Remind me never to let you train in this place."

Lee spread the cloth on the ground and Tenten began to unpack the food,"Lee, Gai-sensei these are yours." she placed two bowls on one side of the cloth and then placed napkins beside it. They opened it and and Gai was the first one to react,"Tenten is this...?"

Inside was red spicy curry with rice. "Eat it if your not sure." Tenten said.

Lee immediately grabbed the spoon on the side she laid out, and brought it to his mouth, throughout Konoha a scream was heard,"YOSH!"

"Tenten this is youthfully delicious! Did our young flower make this curry herself?" Tenten smiled and nodded.

Gai and Lee both yelled at the top of their lungs," ITADIKIMASU!" and both began to devour it, Tenten reached in."I didn't forget about you Neji." she said looking at the silver eyed boy.

She handed him a different sized container, he opened it and inside there were three sushi rolls, three rice balls, and some soy sauce. She handed him a smaller container holding miso soup. He looked at her gratefully, and she giggled quietly. He separated the chopsticks and grabbed a sushi roll, and said," Itadikimasu." and ate it. His eyes instantly lit up,Tenten laughed softly at her three friends.

Neji finished with a very lazy satisfied smirk on his face,"That was delicious Tenten." Tenten shook her head and then brought out a thermos and handed it to him,"It's tea." He accepted it and began to take sips from it. She looked at the other two,"Would you like tea or water?"

"Water its better for your YOUTH!" Gai said eyes twinkling. Their bellies bulging from the pigging out they just did. "I guess your full...oh what am I supposed to do with these homemade jelly dumplings that i made." she said with a sad sigh. Lee and Gai perked up at this,"Jelly dumplings?"

"Homemade?"

She brought them out and Gai and Lee's eyes turned into stars and began drooling,"Tenten can I?"

"Are you sure you are not to full?" she asked mischief twinkling in her eyes. Neji had small smile his lips twitching up at his team mates antics.

"No YOSH!" She handed it to them and they began eating them happily. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neji's lips quirk up slightly. She got another another container and then handed it to him,"Want one?" he accepted it with a nod. He ate it and then once more his eyes lit up. He eyed the other wistfully but didn't ask for more. She giggled at him and then handed two more dumplings to him. He ate them happily with the corner of his lips quirked up slightly.

And then he went back to his tea and the Lee and Gai turned to look at her,"Our young flower! you never told us you could cook!"

"Yeah well now you know." Lee and Gai both nodded fervently. An hour later both Gai and Lee were knocked out sleeping on the cloth. Tenten shook her head and then studied Neji for a bit who was looking relaxed and as content as Hyuuga could possibly be. She decided she was going to take him to her favorite place.

She stood up and tugged on his arm gently his looked at her, she whispered softly,"Come with me, I want to show you something." He stared at her curiously but stood up and brushed himself off. Quietly she took the lead and left the clearing, after a few minutes of walking he said,"Where are we going?"

"You'll see when get there." she answered.

They walked for a bit longer before she froze and then looked back,"They woke up!" With a laugh she grab his hand and sprinted down the path she made a sharp right turn and winded around the trees and then stopped, she looked around. They weren't on the training grounds anymore, they were in a large forest left and protected by the hokages so they could not be torn down in Konoha.

"Do you sense anyone nearby?"

"No."

"You can't tell anyone about this place. Ever." she said looking at him in the eye seriously.

"All right."

Once again she walked a bit longer and then stopped where, where she looked around once more before she made the tiger seal, and she slipped in between a very small gap between that appeared between two trees, that was on a very little used trail. He stared after her,"C'mon Neji!" he hesitated but he squeezed in. He stood still his silver-white eyes slightly wide in amazement. Tenten stood in the middle of a beautiful clearing with large red woods tree surrounding it, the trees unmarred and untouched. The grass grew thick and lush here, and it was very fluffy to step on, and then there where the multicolored butterflies flying everywhere around Tenten from tiny ones to large ones about the size of his hands. Sun-filtered in through the canopy, lighting spots of the ground making the clearing even more beautiful. "Take of your shoes." she said, and then he noticed she was barefoot. "Don't want to harm the grass or the flowers."

He complied subconsciously focused on the butterflies. And then looked up at Tenten and noticed her forehead protector was gone, she was messing with her hair buns, and then tugged on the ribbons holding them in place. Dark auburn hair fell down in waves to her mid back, and she turned to look at him with a smile and spoke softly, Tenten was unusually mellow today. She made the tiger seal again and the gap disappeared.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes, very beautiful..."he said quietly, not quite sure if she really noticed he wasn't talking about the clearing. Then a large butterfly landed on her nose she turned to look at him as the blue and black butterfly spread its wings showing its defense markings which were eyes. He stifled a laugh at how humorous the scene was and then she tilted her head slightly. Then the butterfly was gone and her bright good humored dark chocolate eyes turned to him. The laughter was wiped straight off his face as gazed at her.

She gazed at him curiously and then was gone and next to him the next moment, Neji knew that uncanny speed came from hours of practicing with Lee and he had gotten used to it. She put a hand on his shoulder, and her eyes widened slightly,"Geez Neji your really tense." she said in surprise.

He gave her a mild glare but then it died a horrible graphic death when she gently began to massage his shoulders. He recalled in a daze how he had slowly sunk to the ground, light-headed and extremely relaxed, he also remembered how Tenten laughed very softly.

She continued to massage his shoulders and then her eyebrow arched in amusement, and then in surprise as he relaxed into her so completely that she began to feel his heavy weight and readjusted herself so his head lay on her lap as she sat legs sideways. He fell asleep, he was knocked out completely, who knows when the last time was he got a good night's sleep.

She stayed still that way looking around occasionally a butterfly would land on her. A few hours later, Neji began to move very slightly and then she rested a hand on his chest to keep him still.

Neji opened his eyes groggily to look up at Tenten but kept still as she quietly bid him to be quite. She removed her hand and slowly he sat up from his position on her lap, and to his shock joining the butterflies the ground was colored with birds of every type. He crossed his legs,"This is what I want you to see." she said softly.

She held a hand out and instantly a small blue bird hopped to her and onto her hand. She tickled the birds chest and said,"Hello Aki..." the blue bird trilled and a small flock of birds landed on Tenten. Neji stared amazed, perched on both her arms were at least three birds each, one on her shoulder, and few on her lap.

"The red one is Kioshi, and the mocking bird on my left shoulder is Sayu." She cooed softly at the small red bird perched on her right finger. It tucked its head into its chest almost as if blushing. "This is Neji..." she said quietly Aki turned to look at him with an intelligent critical small beady black eye.

"He's a friend."

"Neji, hold out your hand." Hesitantly he held one out and Aki jumped onto his hand, he turned it so the bird stood on his index finger. It trilled a pretty musical note followed by sweet musical sound of the mocking bird.

"They like you." Tenten said with a small grin.

"Oh?" he said looking at her from his fascination with the small blue bird currently trilling at him softly almost as if talking to him.

"If they hadn't they would've attacked you." He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"Believe it or not I've known these birds for years and years. And they are sort of protective."

"Protective?"

"They attacked Lee once for screaming at me about Youth."

"..."

Tenten giggled softly,"It happened when we were younger."

He looked at Aki again and softly tickled its chest it trilled happily. Tenten giggled at Aki's antics,"Aki is the leader of the flock."

"How is it that you came upon this place?"

"..."

"My...parents showed it to me." He looked at her genuinely interested.

"My parents...were ANBU ninja, they left on a mission when i was seven years old. It was an easy B-rank mission nothing out of the ordinary. On the way back however they were ambushed attacked by sound ninja..." she looked at him with some dull humor and pain shining in her eyes,"Can you guess who were among those ninja Neji?"

He dreaded the answer and shook his head.

"Kidomaru." Neji tensed and went stiff, he silently cursed under his breath. "They found evidence of their presence and judging by the wounds you had compared to theirs they were also victims, they fought back killed a good number of sound ninja. They wanted information on the village who better else than the ANBU to get it from?" She said dully. The mocking bird began to sing as if picking up on the mood and tried to lighten it.

"I'm sorry."

"What for? you killed Kidomaru. He was the one who killed my parents."

"I lost my father at a young age, you lost both your parents at seven knowing them better, and you never complained you never said anything." Neji said. Tenten stared at him and then she graced him with one of those large happy smiles.

"I may have lost one family but I gained another family the rookie nine, Lee, Gai..." he didn't fail to notice she didn't mention him on her list. With a soft whistle the bird flew off her sleeves and lap and back to the field however Ari stayed put with Neji now a small little blue ball of fluff resting on his shoulder. Tenten removed her haori to stay clad in a black tank top. Then proceeded to lean against Neji,"You knocked out Neji...when was the last time you got some sleep?" she said.

"Last night." he stated.

"Obviously, but a good night rest."

"..."

"Heh." she said softly. He shifted slightly and then moved, she ungracefully fell straight onto his lap he had shifted so he was facing her well her back faced him, and now she looked up his face was reverse to hers. She giggled quietly and the bird peeked at them eyeing them suspiciously. He raised an amused eyebrow at her and then a strand of his black hair fell out of place Tenten reached up and then tucked it back behind his ear. He had taken his forehead protector off exposing the curse mark on his forehead. Tenten looked at it mild curiosity she had never seen it so closely before, gently she reached up and traced it with gentle fingers.

"Neji?"

"Hm?"

"You know...I'll always be there for you right?" he gazed at her for a moment.

"And I for you Tenten."

Aki then trilled very softly and Tenten saw a her fly away slowly landing on the ground.

"Tenten?"

"Yes?"

"When you mentioned...you had a new family...you never mentioned me...do you not consider me family?"

He saw a blush grace her cheeks and then she mumbled something incoherently.

"Tenten I can't possibly understand you."

Tenten sat up and shyly looked at him her eyes nervous and her voice very hesitant.

"I said...in ...consider ...family..." she mumbled.

Neji threw her and exasperated but affectionate look and gently but firmly grabbed her chin in his hand and made her look at him,"Your being silly, tell me whats wrong."

She mumbled something again and he let her chin go and shook his head quietly, and then she grabbed his hand. He stared at her as she traced his hand gently with her finger and then uexpectantly twined her fingers with his gripping his hand firmly but gently with hers.

"I think considering the man I'm in love with as a brother would be a little awkward..." she swallowed nervously as Neji stared at her wide-eyed. And then the wide-eyed expression was gone and replaced with...happiness?

And then just like that he was kissing her, lips moving against her, sending sparks of giddiness coursing through her body. Her hand hesitantly moved forward to his shoulder, and then into his long silky black hair. She tilted her head an apparently that was the right thing to do as he deepened the kiss and he gently slipped his hand in her hair the other going to the small of her back. He lowered her gently to the ground and then they separated, Neji trailed his kissed down the underside of her jaw to suckle lightly on her pulse.

He heard her pant and then smirked in satisfaction when he felt a shiver wrack her body. The woman he loved was in love with him, and he didn't think he could possibly feel any happier than he was already.

She felt him smile against her pulse, and then she cupped his face and looked into his eyes for a moment,"I love you Tenten..." he said softly.

Her eyes glittered with intense happiness,"I love you too Neji."

His mouth promptly attacked hers again hungrily. His tongue gently ran over her lower lip and she opened her mouth to which his tongue slipped into her mouth. His tongue ran over hers, and she patted her tongue against his. Neji let her hands go and went straight to her neck gently cupping the back of her neck and slipping his hand into her auburn hair. Her hands tangled into his silky black hair where she tilted her head to left allowing him more access to her mouth.

Oh yes Tenten was tongue tied. (AN/ Excuse the pun XD)

Suddenly she pulled back giggling like a little girl. He stared at her curiously and then said,"What?"

She cupped his face and as their lips were barely touching she said,"Mmmm jelly." And then kissed him again as she giggled.

A few minutes later when they were finally able to stop kissing for a while at least Neji occupied by suckling on her neck. Tenten then got a sly smile on her face, she hooked her leg around the back on Neji's knee and using all her weight flipped him and she landed on top of him. She looked down at his surprised face and with a small laugh kissed the tip of his nose. He had what seemed like a boyish pout, and this time she did laugh out loud,"Your cute when you pout."

"Cute?"

"Want me to say sexy? because I will."

He leaned up and kissed her softly.

"No."

Tenten looked to side and then back at him and did a double take. "What the...?"

Neji followed her line of sight and it was his turn to look startled, apparently they had an audience. The birds were sitting down in a small row watching with their heads tilted as the pair kissed, most likely throughout the entire thing. Aki trilled softly as if saying,"Please continue."

Tenten stared expressionless for a moment before laughing hysterically and rolling off Neji. Neji had an amused smile on his face, as the birds looked on and then seeing as no more action was happening went back to playing. Tenten wiped of the small tears that formed on her fit of laughter, and reached into her pocket, she brought out a small bag and with a flick of her wrist sent seeds and dried fruit flying into the clearing where the birds immediately swarmed.

Neji looked at her and then wrapped his arms around her waist, bringing her between his legs and hugging her to his chest while she fed the birds.

XD I'm so making this a two shot the next chapter will be what happens when shes getting back from a mission O.O no lemon! XD sorry. 


	2. IMPORTANT not a stupid message

Alrighty everyone first off I'd like to start that I have not been faithful to my stories as a good author should be. And second I wish to reassure everyone I'm not giving up on them. But since entering high school, I've realized my stories are in need of MAJOR editing, plot tweaking, and organization.

Because frankly they are going nowhere.

Second, I'd like to say though I'm glad for your support and kind reviews, it's time for a wake up call, I'd also like some critique to improve my stories. I don't mean flames; I mean real critique that will HELP me not put me down.

Also my beta will be gone for a few months so I do apologize ahead of time for any minor mistakes or major mistakes that I miss. And if you see one to point it out.

Another thing, I will be cutting down my computer time to make way for serious studying, which means less editing time. So I must resign myself to tell you to please have patience with me, as of now I'm not sure if I'm taking down the stories to edit them or leaving them up and replacing them with the new chapters.

Also I'm thinking of taking down the lemons, I might or might not repost them, I'm unsure. Why? I feel just a tad bit uncomfortable about them.

Also I IMPLORE, not demand, my readers to please read through the entire message below, because it surprises me how many people are ignorant or don't even CARE about the things I'm going to state below. I know fanfiction is to enjoy yourselves and you don't want this pelted at you but as of recently I feel it necessary to spread the word and help somehow, and if even only two of you read it, it might help.

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ.

I'd like to say this to everyone please, please recycle whenever possible. Especially bottles, bags, and paper. Do you realize so much of our shit is going into the ocean it killing coral reefs? Which means *gasp* fishies without home which = to them dying.

DO you also realize that bags take at least, and I'm talking about small grocery bags people, 100 years to decompose? If not 150? I urge any pet owners out there to buy, in fact anyone to buy biodegradable bags.

**The Benefits**

**Less landfill.** Inside regular trash bags, even your fruit scraps will more likely mummify than ever decompose.

**Solid durability. **Even though biobags degrade in as few as 10 days (that's in a municipal compost), they're surprisingly strong.

**Comparable pricing.** A pack of biodegradable or recycled trash bags might cost $1 more than a box of the usual suspects, but it's still affordable.

_**CAT OWNERS**_: • Try litter made from recycled newspapers. The paper absorbs just as well as conventional clumping litter, but this approach helps the environment by reusing resources. Two great brands are Yesterdays News and Good Mews.

• Another great option is litter made from reclaimed wood. Sawdust that would normally end up in landfills is concentrated without the use of dangerous chemicals to produce environmentally safe litter. Two brands are Nature's Earth and Catfresh.

**Tips: At the end of the school year instead of throwing all your papers away why don't you try throwing them in the recycling bin. If everyone who read this did that, can you imagine how much paper you're saving and how many trees you're saving? **

If you want more tips your welcome to contact me at any time, you warmly welcome to. I also recommend for those of you who have TV to watch Stuff Happens, the show basically tells you how you can save energy, recycle, and reduce pollution in a fun way. (No I'm not trying to advertise.)

Another thing for any High Schoolers, I recommend if you don't have one to start a Green Club. No it won't make you look stupid, in fact it's very popular in my school, but so many high schools don't have one.

The club basically organizes methods for recycling like say they talk with their local recycling company, get bins at place them around the school, and take boxes to classes for paper. I know it doesn't sound like a lot of fun, but it actually is, especially after school when you go around collecting the recyclables, and you could also decorate the bins.

I say this **not **to demand or guilt you into it, but encourage you to begin to practice these things. Adults and environmentalists don't repeat these things to us over and over and over to annoy us, but because their trying INFORM us, so we can help ourselves and our environment.

And it surprises me that a lot of people don't recycle because they think they'll be viewed as environmental freaks. That's not true your just helping improve out way of life and you should be proud of that. Another thing is because a lot of people think, _Ah well, let other people handle this, what's one bottle in the trash going to do? _

Yeah? Really? How many bottles do you think are thrown away from people thinking the same way and in the U.S alone?

3 million. Every. Single. Freakin. Day.

NOT COOL MAN. That's fuckin insane.

_I don't mean to sound like a teacher but now, especially in this time we have to start getting resourceful. We have to stop putting these things off, we as the future generation need to keep the earth healthy for our children. People need to understand, this isn't a game, this is serious. _

Thank you to everyone who bothered to actually read all of this, and ask you not be annoyed with me or even irritated, but even if I lose half of my readers over this it's worth it because at least those readers KNOW now. That's all I want.

Until Later, Domi.


End file.
